Dr. Han Changjun is an Associate Professor in the School of Mechanical & Automotive Engineering at South China University of Technology, China. His research interests include the additive manufacturing of metallic biomaterials and bioinspired structures. He was Selected in the Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by CAST and Young Talent Support Project of Guangzhou. He presided over 9 projects such as National Natural Science Foundation, National Key Research and Development Plan (sub-project), equipment pre-research field Funding, and Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province. He won the Gold Award of the First National Post-Doctoral Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition in 2021 (rank 1), the Third Prize of Science and Technology Progress Award of Machinery Industry Science and Technology Award in 2023, and the Nanshan Award of Science and Technology Innovation in Guangzhou (Young Science and Technology Talent Award). He has published 55 papers in esteemed journals such as Advanced Materials, International Journal of Extremely Manufacturing, and Additive Manufacturing (including 3 highly cited papers and 11 papers with IF exceeding 10), accumulating over 3400 citations on Google Scholar. He serves as an Associate Editor of Smart Manufacturing, Editorial Board Member of Virtual and Physical Prototyping, Youth Editorial Committee Member of International Journal of Extremely Manufacturing, Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering: Additive Manufacturing Frontiers, and Journal of Central South University.

Topic title: Laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing of biodegradable zinc: processing, design, and performance

Abstract:

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) of biodegradable zinc (Zn) combines tailorable microstructure and attractive performance, which is expected to be widely used in bio-medical applications. The effect of process parameters on the quality of Zn was explored. An optimized processing window of LPBF was established for fabricating Zn samples with relative densities greater than 99%. The Zn sample with exceptional strength-ductility synergy was fabricated. The corresponding multiple deformation mechanisms were revealed. Furthermore, the effect of microstructure on the comprehensive properties of LPBF-fabricated Zn were also investigated, including its mechanical anisotropy, corrosion anisotropy, biological response. Particularly, the anisotropy of mechanical properties in LPBF-printed Zn (i.e., horizontal and vertical samples) was systematically evaluated and discussed to establish a correlation be-tween anisotropic microstructure and mechanical response. With these foundations, a design method for high-performance controllable lattice-inspired Voronoi metamaterials (LVMs) was proposed. The fabricated LVMs presented mechanical and mass transfer properties that were highly compatible with those of natural bone, which provided a new idea for fabricating the macro/micro structure of defective bone with controllable shape and performance. This study highlighted the promising prospects of LPBF-fabricated Zn scaffolds in the treatment of load-bearing bone defects.